Deck 8: Learning

Question 1

A(n) ________ is defined as any internal or external event that increases the frequency of a behavior.

A) converter
B) reinforcer
C) unconditioned stimulus
D) catalyst

Answer 1

reinforcer

Question 2

Which of the following is most likely to be essential for moving an experience from short-term to long-term memory?

A) Connecting an unconditioned stimulus with a conditioned stimulus
B) Having experiences repeated over a short period of time
C) Converting a change in response into habituation
D) Connecting a conditioned response to an unconditioned stimulus

Answer 2

Having experiences repeated over a short period of time

Question 3

Which of the following statements is true regarding habituation?

A) It is a permanent change in behavior.
B) It only occurs when an organism links two sources of information.
C) It is an involuntary response to an intermittent stimulus.
D) It is often regarded as learning in its simplest form.

Answer 3

It is often regarded as learning in its simplest form.

Question 4

Conditioning is a form of ________ learning in which behaviors are triggered by associations with events in the environment.

A) disjointed
B) associative
C) evaluative
D) objective

Question 5

When Anna was a child, a dog named Max used to bark at her whenever she walked past him, and even bit her once. As an adult, whenever she meets a pet named Max, her palms start to sweat and her heart races. Anna's behavior an example of ________.

A) habituation
B) association
C) reinforcement
D) unconditioned response

Question 6

Bob, a nine-year-old, sees his older brother playing the guitar. Later that day, Bob picks up the guitar and pretends to play it. Bob's behavior is an example of ________.

A) dark adaptation
B) mimicry
C) habituation
D) learning by association

Question 7

When Geeta was a child, her mother used to use a particular incense stick. 20 years later, when she went to her friend's house, she caught a whiff of the same incense stick and started thinking of her own home and her mother. Geeta's behavior is an example of ________.

A) reinforcement
B) mimicry
C) unconditioned response
D) association

Question 8

In order for an association to form between them, the ________ must be paired or presented very close together in time.

A) habituated response and unconditioned stimulus
B) associated stimulus and orienting response
C) neutral stimulus and conditioned stimulus
D) unconditioned stimulus and conditioned stimulus

Question 9

According to the research of van Praag, Kempermann, and Gage (1999), which of the following people will most likely experience neurogenesis?

A) Hank, who loves interacting with his classmates
B) Celeste, who reads books
C) Velma, who is learning how to play the piano
D) Jack, who takes part in running races

Question 10

Which of the following statements is true regarding imprinting?

A) Imprinting can be learned at any age.
B) After a certain age, imprinting cannot be modified at all.
C) Imprinting provides clear evidence of synaptic change.
D) Imprinting occurs only in humans.

Question 11

A factory pays its employees on Wednesdays, and on Thursdays employee productivity seems to be a little slow. The productivity gradually increases over the week and reaches its peak on Wednesday. This is an example of which of the following types of schedules?

A) Fixed-interval schedule
B) Variable-ratio schedule
C) Variable-interval schedule
D) Fixed-ratio schedule

Question 12

The two types of conditioning are ________.

A) short-term and long-term
B) evaluative and cognitive
C) explicit and implicit
D) classical and operant

Question 13

As a child, Rahul was bitten by a spider and thereafter developed an intense phobia of them. His mother, in an effort to treat Rahul's phobia, eventually took him to a psychologist who gradually exposed him to spiders. After a few sessions of having nonthreatening experiences with spiders, Rahul was able to overcome his phobia. In the context of classical conditioning, this is an example of ________.

A) stimulus generalization
B) habituation
C) extinction
D) backward conditioning

Question 14

An argument can be made that habituation is not a form of learning, because ________.

A) it involves involuntary responses that develops over time
B) it involves unconditioned responses to new stimuli
C) it results in permanent changes in behavior
D) it can disappear immediately with slight changes in the stimulus

Question 15

In Pavlov's classical conditioning study, the neutral stimulus that was presented to the dog was ________.

A) the meat powder
B) an electric shock
C) a bell sound
D) the apparatus

Question 16

A tap just below your kneecap will cause your leg to jerk forth. This is an example of a(n) ________.

A) habituated response
B) unconditioned stimulus
C) conditioned stimulus
D) fixed stimulus-response

Question 17

Tina's car was sideswiped as she was making a blind turn while leaving a parking lot. After this accident, Tina had a panic attack whenever she was near that lot, so she could not park there. Several months later, the attacks stopped, and she started parking there again. Then, one day as she was approaching the parking lot, Tina had an unexpected panic attack. This scenario exemplifies ________.

A) imprinting
B) mimicry
C) stimulus discrimination
D) spontaneous recovery

Question 18

________ is a sensory process by which organisms adapt to constant stimulation.

A) Generalization
B) Orientation
C) Habituation
D) Association

Question 19

Which of the following statements is true regarding synaptic connections?

A) Synaptic connections weaken if they are not used regularly.
B) Synaptic connections, once formed, are permanent.
C) Synaptic connections lessen during long-term associative learning.
D) Synaptic connections between neurons are stronger but lesser in number during long-term associative learning.

Question 20

Every time Mary does well on her assignments, her teacher gives her a candy. This is an example of ________.

A) classical conditioning
B) latent learning
C) imprinting
D) continuous reinforcement

Question 21

Buddy knows that when his owner Sally picks up his leash, she is likely to take him for a walk. Therefore, he runs to the door. Sally started ringing a bell just before picking up Buddy's leash for a few days. She presented the bell along with the leash to Buddy over and over again; Buddy ran to the door. Then she tried presenting the bell alone to see if Buddy might now link the bell with the leash. From the bell alone, Buddy ran to the door. Learning theorists would say that Buddy is ________.

A) imprinted
B) conditioned
C) oriented
D) habituated

Question 22

In Pavlov's classical conditioning experiment, the dogs gradually stopped salivating to the bell once they learned that the bell wasn't accompanied by meat powder. This phenomenon is an example of ________.

A) habituation
B) backward conditioning
C) extinction
D) stimulus discrimination

Question 23

Pavlov defined ________ as fixed stimulus-response patterns.

A) stimuli
B) habits
C) reflexes
D) behaviors

Question 24

Why did Skinner and Watson ignore the role of cognitive and brain processes in learning?

A) Because they could not be observed
B) Because they were not suitable for group studies
C) Because they could lead to treacherous results
D) Because they could not be experimented with

Question 25

In the context of classical conditioning, which of the following terms is defined as the natural, automatic, inborn, and involuntary reaction to a stimulus?

A) Neutral response
B) Unconditioned response
C) Intermittent reinforcement
D) Positive reinforcement

Question 26

Once we have mastered the skill of riding a bicycle, we don't have to learn to ride a bicycle every time we want to go for a spin. What is the reason behind this?

A) Information moves from implicit to explicit memory.
B) New knowledge is stored in networks in the brain.
C) Learning and memory work separately.
D) Information moves from sensory to short-term memory.

Question 27

As per the criteria laid out by Pavlov, in which of the following instances is stimulus-response conditioning between unconditioned stimulus (UCS) and conditioned stimulus (CS) LEAST likely to occur?

A) When the UCS precedes the neutral stimulus
B) When there are multiple pairings of UCS and neutral stimulus
C) When the UCS and the neutral stimulus are presented very close together in time
D) When the UCS and the neutral stimulus are presented at the same time

Question 28

Smoking can cause the arousal of the sympathetic nervous system and mild relaxation of the muscles. From a learning perspective these are considered ________.

A) positive reinforcers
B) negative punishments
C) instinctive drifts
D) unconditioned stimuli

Question 29

In operant conditioning, ________ occurs when a behavior stops being reinforced.

A) extinction
B) abstraction
C) generalization
D) habituation

Question 30

Gia works in an open-plan office. Initially, she thought that she would find it difficult to mute out the surrounding sounds, but later she realized that the low hum of the air-conditioning and the clicks of the various keyboard systems became background noise that she could ignore. This scenario is an example of ________.

A) reconsolidation
B) habituation
C) learning by association
D) mimicry

Question 31

The extension of the association between the unconditioned and the conditioned stimulus to a broad array of similar stimuli is called ________.

A) habituation
B) operant conditioning
C) stimulus discrimination
D) stimulus generalization

Question 32

Giving a dog a treat every time it jumps on command is an example of ________.

A) imprinting
B) classical conditioning
C) latent learning
D) continuous reinforcement

Question 33

The beeper sounds in your car until you fasten your seat belt. The removal of the annoying beeping is ________ for fastening the seat belt.

A) negative reinforcement
B) positive reinforcement
C) forward conditioning
D) backward conditioning

Question 34

How do psychologists define learning?

A) Enduring changes in behavior that occur with experience
B) Ability or expertise to do something well
C) Ability to notice things, especially significant details
D) Possession of the means of skills to do something

Question 35

When he was a kid, Samuel was once mugged in a dark alley near his house. Even as an adult, whenever he walks in a dark alley, his palms start to sweat and his heart races. He feels nervous and scared. Samuel's behavior is an example of ________.

A) dark adaptation
B) operant conditioning
C) learning by association
D) habituation

Question 36

Which of the following scenarios best depicts spontaneous recovery?

A) Chris was bitten by a hamster when he was five years old. He is now twenty, and still will not approach any rodent-like pets.
B) Months ago, Dora stopped having panic attacks when crossing bridges. However, she had a panic attack today when crossing a large bridge.
C) Three-year-old Jorge had a close call with a hot stove when his dad was cooking, and he readily learned not to put his hand near a hot stove again.
D) After many years, Farah, the cat, finally learned to expect food whenever she heard her owner operating an electric can opener.

Question 37

If a sports car is always shown in commercials with sexy, attractive individuals, then it becomes linked in memory with something that is inherently desirable. The car itself becomes a(n) ________ reinforcer because of its association with sex.

A) unconditioned
B) secondary
C) generalized
D) habituated

Question 38

Which of the following best describes habituation?

A) An association between two events in the environment
B) A permanent change in behavior
C) An involuntary response to intermittent stimuli
D) A change in response that stems from experience

Question 39

The learning that occurs in the absence of reinforcement and is not demonstrated until later when reinforcement occurs, is called ________.

A) operant learning
B) conditioned learning
C) latent learning
D) implicit learning

Question 40

________ reinforcers are innate and often satisfy biological needs.

A) Secondary
B) Conditioned
C) Habituated
D) Primary

Question 41

For every 10 cars Gus sells, he gets a bonus. Gus's sales are being reinforced according to a ________.

A) variable-ratio schedule
B) fixed-interval schedule
C) fixed-ratio schedule
D) variable-interval schedule

Question 42

Matthew has been playing the clarinet for many years, and he can play musical scales without giving much thought to the finger positions involved in the process. Matthew's mastery of the clarinet is most likely a result of ________.

A) years of classical conditioning leading to a permanent increase in GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) activity
B) strong synaptic connections that have been built during years of practice and playing the instrument
C) the associative potential of mirror neuron systems (MNS) in his brain
D) the consolidation of episodic memories by the limbic system

Question 43

In the 1950s John Garcia and his colleagues wondered whether the rats had developed a taste aversion for the food and water they had consumed while they received radiation. Which of the following statements is true as per this research conducted by John Garcia?

A) An organism could not be conditioned to avoid a taste they previously liked, by alternating between an unconditioned stimulus and conditioned stimulus.
B) Conditioning can happen only if an organism is exposed repeatedly within a brief time span (a few seconds) to the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) and conditioned stimulus (CS) together.
C) An organism cannot be conditioned to respond to just any "neutral" stimulus paired with an unconditioned stimulus.
D) Reflexive responses (such as nausea) could be conditioned to any kind of stimulus, as taste aversion is not depended on stimuli.

Question 44

________ can be defined as the addition of a stimulus that decreases a behavior.

A) Positive reinforcement
B) Negative punishment
C) Positive punishment
D) Negative reinforcement

Question 45

While training his dog, Mark first says the word "sit" and once the dog sits, he gives her a treat. Immediately after this, he says, "Good dog!" He repeats the same process many times, and each time his dog sits after listening to his command. In this example, which of the following is the primary reinforcer?

A) The word "sit"
B) Mark
C) The words "good dog"
D) The treat

Question 46

Natalie is a kindergarten teacher. She gives a candy to the students who successfully complete their activities in class. This ensures that her students pay attention to what is being taught in class. Natalie's act of giving students a candy or a toy for paying attention in class is an example of ________.

A) enactive learning
B) observational learning
C) classical conditioning
D) positive reinforcement

Question 47

To be effective, reinforcers have to be things that ________.

A) the learner wants to avoid
B) can act as conditioned stimuli
C) can act as unconditioned stimuli
D) the learner wants

Question 48

Which of these techniques would work best to change a behavior?

A) Li's parents yelled at her for getting poor grades in her final exam.
B) Raj's mother slapped him on the hand for taking a cookie from the cookie jar.
C) Lori's parents sent her to her room after she threw mashed potatoes at her brother.
D) Jose's parents bought him a new toy truck for being nicer to his little sister.

Question 49

Billy, a five-year-old boy, sees his father applying shaving cream on his face while shaving his beard in front of a mirror. Billy copies his father's facial and hand movements and later that day Billy stands in front of the mirror and pretends to shave. Billy's behavior is an example of ________.

A) learning by association
B) habituation
C) dark adaption
D) mimicry

Question 50

Which of the following is most likely to be useful to help people kick the smoking habit?

A) Stimulus generalization
B) Habituation
C) Imprinting
D) Operant conditioning

Question 51

Janice is a physical instructor at a school. She gives chocolates to students every time they perform well in athletics because she notices that giving chocolates to students encourages them to perform better. This is an example of ________.

A) intermittent reinforcement
B) positive reinforcement
C) stimulus discrimination
D) observational learning

Question 52

Who coined the term 'operant' to refer to behavior that acts-or operates-on the environment to produce specific consequences?

A) B. F. Skinner
B) Carl Rogers
C) Mary Ainsworth
D) John B. Watson

Question 53

Which of the following scenarios best represents variable-ratio schedule?

A) Umar gives his dog a treat every time the dog barks on his command.
B) Agatha frequently studies the material from her physics class because she knows that her professor will conduct a pop quiz once every week.
C) Doreen does not study for her accounting exams until one or two nights before the test is scheduled to take place.
D) Rishi continues to insert money into slot machines because he never knows how many pulls of the arm it will take to win the jackpot.

Question 54

The reinforcement of successive approximations of a desired behavior is called ________.

A) stimulus generalization
B) backward conditioning
C) shaping
D) habituation

Question 55

Juan hears his older brother singing loudly while in the shower, and now Juan also imitates it. According to Bandura's social learning theory, this is an example of ________.

A) modeling
B) habituation
C) conditioning
D) imprinting

Question 56

Can negative reinforcers be punishers?

A) No, because punishments are always positive.
B) No, because negative reinforcers increase desired behaviors.
C) Yes, because punishments are always negative.
D) Yes, because negative reinforcers decrease desired behaviors.

Question 57

Raymond learns how to properly fold and neatly arrange his clothes by watching his mother do it. This is an example of ________.

A) latent learning
B) observational learning
C) classical conditioning
D) operant conditioning

Question 58

In the context of classical conditioning, which of the following terms is defined as an object or a situation that when presented alone does not lead to an automatic (or unconditioned) response?

A) Conditioned stimulus
B) Continuous reinforcement
C) Intermittent reinforcement
D) Neutral stimulus

Question 59

________ is the presentation or addition of a stimulus after a behavior occurs that increases how often that behavior will occur.

A) Stimulus generalization
B) Stimulus discrimination
C) Positive reinforcement
D) Observational conditioning

Question 60

Tracy was bitten by her neighbor's dog, and now she will not go near any household pets. This is an example of ________.

A) negative reinforcement
B) stimulus generalization
C) stimulus discrimination
D) backward conditioning

Question 61

Research on spontaneous recovery suggests that ________.

A) extinction leads to the habituation of a response
B) extinction refers to the complete elimination of a response
C) extinction leads to the suppression of a response
D) extinction leads to the generalization of a response

Question 62

When the consequences of a behavior increase the likelihood that a behavior will occur again, the behavior is ________.

A) weakened
B) dismissed
C) habituated
D) reinforced

Question 63

When he was a kid, Leo was attacked by his neighbor's pet cat. Now he does not go near any household pets. In the context of classical conditioning, this is an example of ________.

A) stimulus discrimination
B) stimulus generalization
C) negative reinforcement
D) backward conditioning

Question 64

Drake teaches his three-year-old daughter, Sarah, how to sharpen a pencil. The next day, Sarah successfully sharpens her pencils. This scenario is an example of ________.

A) mimicry
B) dark adaption
C) learning by association
D) habituation

Question 65

Jenny sees that her mom smokes a cigarette to relax whenever she gets stressed, so she thinks that it will work for her too. This is an example of ________.

A) habituation
B) intermittent reinforcement
C) social learning
D) imprinting

Question 66

Whenever Julia gets ready for school on time, she gets a chocolate from her mother. Hence, Julia always tries to get ready on time. This is an example of ________ type of learning.

A) backward conditioning
B) explicit conditioning
C) observational conditioning
D) operant conditioning

Question 67

The weakening and disappearance of a conditioned response in the absence of the pairing of unconditioned stimuli and conditioned stimuli is called ________.

A) extinction
B) habituation
C) abstraction
D) generalization

Question 68

Nate was fined for parking his car in a no-parking zone. Thereafter, he stopped parking his car in no-parking zones. In this scenario, Nate received a(n) ________.

A) unconditioned stimulus
B) intermittent reinforcement
C) negative reinforcement
D) positive punishment

Question 69

Edward Tolman's work on latent learning shows that ________.

A) most animals learn through classical and not operant conditioning
B) continuous reinforcement is less effective compared to intermittent reinforcement
C) punishments are more effective than reinforcements at modifying behavior
D) prior experience-whether reinforced or not-aids future learning

Question 70

When the neutral stimulus follows the unconditioned stimulus, the process is called ________ conditioning.

A) forward
B) backward
C) operant
D) rapid

Question 71

Which of the following statements best describes John Watson's belief in the power of conditioning?

A) Regardless of inborn traits, people can be trained to shape their behavior through conditioning.
B) It is a powerful tool in shaping behavior but it cannot change the effects of inborn tendencies.
C) Conditioning is useful for treating people with phobias, but only a few phobias can be treated through conditioning.
D) It is an effective tool for modifying behavior although personal differences are an important factor.

Question 72

Frank teaches his nine-year-old son how to make scrambled eggs. The next day, his son successfully makes scrambled eggs for himself. This scenario exemplifies ________.

A) dark adaptation
B) synesthesia
C) learning by observation
D) latent learning

Question 73

Most teens start smoking because they seek some of the rewards that appear to come with smoking: coolness, peer acceptance, and looking like an adult. All of these rewards are ________ reinforcers.

A) conditioned
B) primary
C) secondary
D) explicit

Question 74

Danny is fond of gambling and enjoys playing at the slot machine at the local casino. He is excited every time he wins a significant amount of money. So, although he does not win each time he plays, the hope of winning a larger amount at the next turn motivates him to go on playing. This behavior is most likely a result of ________.

A) stimulus generalization
B) stimulus discrimination
C) continuous reinforcement
D) intermittent reinforcement

Question 75

Which of the following statements is true regarding continuous reinforcement?

A) Compared to intermittent reinforcement, continuous reinforcement produces a stronger response in terms of the rate of responding.
B) Continuous reinforcement means rewarding a behavior every time it occurs.
C) In continuous reinforcement, reinforcement follows a set number of responses.
D) Compared to intermittent reinforcement, continuous reinforcement produces responses that are more resistant to extinction.

Question 76

Kandel, Fields, and others have shown that learning results in the growth of new ________ in the brain.

A) glial cells
B) synapses
C) lobes
D) cortexes

Question 77

Which of the following facts regarding reinforcement was noted by Albert Bandura?

A) Punishment is more effective in shaping behavior than negative reinforcement.
B) Positive reinforcement can be effective only after an unconditioned stimulus is associated with a conditioned stimulus.
C) Negative reinforcement is more effective in shaping behavior than positive reinforcement.
D) Reinforcement matters not only for the person carrying out the behavior, but also for those who watch.

Question 78

In Pavlov's classical conditioning experiment, he presented the sound of a bell along with meat powder to his dogs. After several trials, the dogs learned to salivate to the sound of the bell in the absence of the meat powder. If Pavlov's dogs did not salivate to a buzzer but only to a bell, then this phenomenon would be an example of ________.

A) backward conditioning
B) forward conditioning
C) stimulus generalization
D) stimulus discrimination

Question 79

Some people continue smoking cigarettes because it reduces stress, social isolation, and appetite. From a learning perspective, these reductions can be considered as ________.

A) conditioned stimuli
B) conditioned responses
C) instinctive drifts
D) negative reinforcers

Question 80

Which is the true statement regarding mirror neuron system (MNS)?

A) They are found only in human beings.
B) They are existent in only adult beings.
C) They are involved in imitation and social learning.
D) They are responsible for stimulus discrimination.